Letters to the editor

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Lowertown’s descent

Sadly, I echo John Phelan’s sentiments on the demise of St. Paul’s Lowertown district (“Gone But Not Forgotten”). I lived in Lowertown, both times after significant losses necessitating being somewhere I could rebuild. I’ll never forget the feeling of walking into the lobby of a Mears Park apartment building where I’d lived years before. A familiar leasing agent greeted me with a friendly, “Welcome home.” That embodies what Lowertown once was. Alas, times have changed. 

Whereas Lowertown once had a thriving, energizing vibe, now it reeks of decay with an almost sinister undertone. I recall how Lowertown crackled with life. Mears Park thrived, with local residents tending the foliage and picking up trash. People from surrounding apartments and condos gathered to listen to music, walk their dogs, and let their children play. The skyways were a safe and unique place to take winter walks, sheltered from the cold and snow.  

The last time I visited Lowertown the magic was gone; homeless people and ne’er-do-wells now run the show. Skyways have been commandeered by the homeless, necessitating dodging human excrement, drug paraphernalia, and litter. And never mind the traffic disruption caused by light rail and the street crime associated with this boondoggle. All of this with full knowledge and apparent endorsement of city leaders and residents.  

Can Lowertown be saved? Not until Mayor Melvin Carter, the city council, and most importantly Lowertown residents admit that their cultural experiment has failed utterly. This seems unlikely given that each voting cycle, St. Paul voters inexplicably double down on cruel, reckless policies that exacerbate economic decline and human misery. 

Thomas L. Bonnett
Mendota Heights, Minn.

“Thinking” Minnesota 

I am a new reader of Thinking Minnesota (Fall 2024) and wish I had started much sooner! I am a very patriotic veteran and have been a very vocal anti-Biden/ Harris administration voice. I inherited my parent’s retirement home in Two Harbors, Minn. in 2014. In my many trips to Two Harbors, I happened to pick up the weekly newspaper, the Duluth Reader, for area news. It is probably the most radical leftist publication in Minnesota if not the country. Their leftist columnists (and staff) are afflicted with the TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) and the “vote blue no matter who” afflictions. They do have a section for “Letters to the Editor” and I decided, over six years ago, to submit letters from a patriotic conservative viewpoint. A writer can only submit one letter per month, and it has to be 300 words or less. I have been published every month except once or twice during that time. 

My September 2024 submittal to the Duluth Reader was entitled “Pants on Fire” about Gov. Tim Walz’s many lies, including his insinuation about serving in combat. The newspaper editor sent me a private email saying he would NOT print my letter, in addition to some other very derogatory comments. So, censorship is alive and well in the Duluth Reader. I am done sending more letters. 

Chuck Bracken  
Cannon Falls, Minn. 

Commonsense drug control 

I read the Winter [2025] issue eagerly as always and was very pleased with Ron Eibensteiner’s opening note on using common sense to reject the rule of the elites. But then, just a few pages later I find a news note praising North Dakota’s “Nope on Dope” campaign.  

No person with any common sense can see anything but huge chunks of money disappearing uselessly into the black hole of drug control. During Prohibition, Americans learned that prohibiting substances that most enjoyed was an exercise in futility that enriched criminals and caused a lot of death and destruction with only a minimal effect on the consumption of those substances. Now we spend over $40 billion a year trying to control drugs and we’ve seen the same result as back in the 1930s. Where is the common sense in that? Further, we’re seeing over 110,000 deaths each year from overdoses caused by the low quality control the illegal manufacturers use in making drugs. Plus, how many more deaths are caused by battles between gangs or between gangs and police? Why not save the $40 billion and 110,000-plus lives and let real drug companies and perhaps some local clinics supervise the safe manufacture and usage of drugs? Why not tax the drugs like we tax alcohol and tobacco and collect tens of billions in revenue to support safe use?  

That seems to be a more commonsense approach.  

John Christoffel
Coon Rapids, Minn. 

“Old” school

I have been reading Thinking Minnesota magazine and enjoy the articles a lot, but I want to comment on the “Taking Care of Business” article about paths to career success in the Winter [2025] issue.  

The article was interesting, but a little outdated! Other schools have been doing the same kinds of things that Owatonna is doing for quite some time; it’s not really something new. The ProStart culinary classes have been going on for at least 10 years, and in my school district, they were started because of community needs for trained culinary workers and for the benefit of seniors graduating with an employable skill. The same thing with industrial tech classes such as welding, HVAC, machining, construction, etc. Two of the teachers in our local northern Minnesota school received “Teacher of the Year” status because of the effectiveness of their Career and Technical Education programs and how they involved their communities and industry with their local schools. You should know what Owatonna is doing isn’t completely unique but is happening across Minnesota.  

John Christoffel
Retired school board member